Direct Marketing Educational Foundation Announces Jonathan Zhang 2009 Shankar-Spiegel Dissertation Proposal Award Winner

NEW YORK, NY, October 27, 2009 — The Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) today announced that Jonathan Zhang of Columbia University is the winner of the 2009 Shankar-Spiegel Dissertation Proposal Award.

This prestigious award, now in its second year, recognizes doctoral candidates from accredited programs, with the best dissertation proposals in the area of direct/interactive marketing. It was presented during an awards luncheon at the DMEF Direct/Interactive Marketing Research Summit, being held in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) DMA09 Conference & Exhibition.

"Ph.D. students are the lifeline to teaching excellence so it is with great pride that the DMEF presents this award to honor and support leading-edge research which feeds the future of education," said Terri L. Bartlett, DMEF President. "Research is mission critical to academics and practitioners alike, and the DMEF continues to expand its role in bridging these two groups through new and innovative initiatives to meet the challenges facing marketers in the 21st century.”

Zhang’s $3,000 winning dissertation proposal was titled “Optimal Targeted Dynamic Pricing in B2B Settings,” and was co-chaired by Columbia University professors Asim Ansari and Oded Netzer.

“Through the establishment of the Shankar-Spiegel Award we intend to increase the amount of direct/interactive marketing research at colleges and universities and, ultimately, significantly expand the availability of studies to meet the growing demands of the marketplace,” said Marie Adolphe, DMEF’s vice president of program development.

“Columbia University is very proud and congratulates Jonathan for winning the 2009 Shankar-Spiegel Dissertation Proposal award,” said Columbia University professor Netzer, co-chair of the dissertation proposal. “The award is a clear recognition of his research aptitude, capabilities, and his work ethic. The dissertation develops a targeted pricing model that accounts for dynamics in customer purchasing patterns, and applied his model in the Business-to-Business sector, which despite its obvious importance to the economy, has received relatively little attention within the modeling literature in marketing.”

About The Shankar-Spiegel Dissertation Award

The Shankar-Spiegel competition, established in 2007, recognizes the best dissertation proposal in direct/interactive marketing. The annual competition is named in honor of DMEF Outstanding Educator Award recipient Venkatesh “Venky” Shankar, Ph.D., who is the Coleman Chair Professor in Marketing at Texas A&M University, and Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Hall of Fame Award recipient Edward J. “Ted” Spiegel, president and founder of Spiegel Marketing Associates. Doctoral students in such varied areas as marketing, computer science, economics, management science, organizational psychology, statistics, advertising and communications, strategy, management and organization, and information systems, and other relevant disciplines whose developments help advance the understanding of direct/interactive marketing, are encouraged to apply.

About Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF)

Headquartered in New York City, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) works to attract, educate, and place top college students in the business of direct/interactive marketing and, thereby, expanding and enriching the talent pool of trained, market-ready talent in the field of marketing direct. Established in 1966 by members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) who wanted to give something back to the community, DMEF is today a separate, 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that is supported solely by tax-deductible contributions from individuals and companies. Funds raised go toward a broad range of world-class educational programs.

Since its founding, thousands of students have taken advantage of DMEF’s educational programs, entering the field with the competitive edge of being “workplace-ready.” Many have gone on to become today’s leaders in the direct/interactive marketing field, an indication of the Foundation’s success. In addition, more than 2,000 professors have participated in DMEF programs. Thanks in significant part to the Foundation’s four decades of work, today approximately 255 colleges and universities offer courses in direct/interactive marketing, 31 of which now offer specific direct marketing degrees and certificate programs. For additional information about the DMEF, its mission, and its programs, visit www.directworks.org.

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